Kips Bay Showhouse and Gilt Home

{The landing, complete with a peacock blue sofa, seagrass wallcovering with nailhead trim, and a cane-print rug was designed by Robert Verdi and Deirdre D’Elia.}

Gilt Home has teamed up with the famed Kips Bay Showhouse this year for an amazing contest. Over the course of the next three weeks they will be updating the Gilt Home Facebook page with photos and videos as the Kips Bay rooms come together from designers such as Vicente Wolf, 2Michaels, and Jennifer Post. Then, on November 4, they will sell the furnishings from Kips Bay at an exclusive Gilt Home sale.

{The Kips Bay “Trophy Kitchen” designed by Eve Robinson}

Gilt Home fans on Facebook can enter to win a two-hour consultation with one of the featured Kips Bay interior designers and a $1,000 credit to shop at Gilt Home. To enter, simply visit their Facebook page and register for this unique opportunity.

{Noel Jeffrey created the glamorous master bedroom}

{The elegant master bathroom designed by Ed Ku and Etienne Coffinier features

hand-blown glass bubbles by Suzan Etkin.}

{Elizabeth Pyne of McMillen Plus designed this pale aqua and gold vignette.}

Special Holiday Ad Rate on La Dolce Vita

Ad space is currently available on La Dolce Vita and we are offering a special discounted holiday rate. On La Dolce Vita, you’ll share your business with your target audience and reach thousands of readers who love shopping online each day. The holidays are just around the corner and this is the busiest shopping time of the year!

For more details, please contact me at palomascontreras@hotmail.com.

A Whirlwind Weekend in Napa

I spent last Thursday through Sunday in the beautiful Napa Valley with some girlfriends. We had such a great time and I am looking forward to doing it again! We had the wonderful fortune of staying at this gorgeous home designed by renowned architect, Howard Backen. The home an location were so idyllic and I must say that the house was so thoughtfully designed and the place is completely charming. It was featured in Architectural Digest last year. We were only in Napa for a few days, but were able to do so much! We spent time shopping on St. Helena’s main street, visited with the locals, did a little wine tasting, and ate delicious food. {The Front Courtyard Looking Toward the Guest Cottage}

{Front Courtyard}

{Pool Area}

{Bocce Ball, Anyone?}

{View from the Master Bedroom…Does it get any more idyllic?}

{Part of the Kitchen / Family Room, Complete with a Rotisserie}

{Lovely Kitchen}

{The Dining Room Adjacent to the Kitchen}

{Erin Martin’s Showroom in St. Helena}

{If you know me, then you know I went bananas for this Greek Key table!}

   {I cannot say enough good things about Swanson Vineyards! I have an entire feature devoted to Swanson planned, but until then, I just have to say that this is a definite must if you are planning a trip to Napa. The tasting room is at once grand, elegant, and eclectic, the wines are marvelous, but more than anything, he Swanson Vineyards family (especially the doyenne, Elizabeth) is composed of the warmest, most welcoming people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in a very long time.}

{Our fun group included Kyle of Knight Moves, Shannon Wollack, me, Ashley Steen of Orchard 11, and Jeni who was taking the picture.}

We also had a wine tasting at Mai(s)onry, which is such an interesting space. They’ve combined a tasting room with an art gallery and a well-curated interior design boutique. They carry the exclusive Blackbird Vineyards label which produces excellent wines. This visit was also an incredible experience that I am planning to feature more about soon.

{From Left: Ashley, Maura, Shannon, Me, Kyle, and Jeni.}

As usual, everything I ate in Napa was out of this world! From a simple sandwich at Giugni’s on Main Street in St. Helena to dinner at Redd (pictured), I am always so impressed by the delicious seasonal cooking in this part of the country. On our first night in Napa, we had dinner at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, owned by Cindy Pawlcyn of the famed Napa restaurant, Mustard’s. Everyone loved their food and the service was outstanding. On the second day, between tastings at Mai(s)onry and Swanson, we had lunch at Michael Chiarello’s Bottega, which is a new favorite of mine. Again, everyone loved their food and Chef Chiarello visited with us for a while. That night, we went to Redd, which is a personal favorite of almost everyone in the group. Their Heirloom Tomato Salad and Lobster Risotto are out of this world!

New Handbag Collection by Iomoi

I have long been a fan of iomoi and I am absolutely loving their new line of leather bags! The colors are fantastic: orange, navy, yellow, chocolate, and camel and the shapes are so classic. On top of all of that fabulousness, they can be monogrammed in gold (see navy bag below)! I wish I could see them in person!

{The Leather Parker Bag in Orange}

{The Leather Tote in Navy}

{This shot gives you a better idea of the tote’s size.}

From the House of LDV: Circa Lighting Pieces for Sale

{The Mercer Long Box Sconce}

One of the perks of having a husband who works in the design industry is the fact that I have access to some really amazing lighting. I frequently change out my lighting like others might swap out pillows and throws.

I currently have a few pieces including the Mercer Long Box Fixture (polished nickel finish) designed by Thomas O’Brien for Circa Lighting that I am no longer using. It is in perfect condition and is pictured above.  It retails for $609 and I am asking $300.

I also have this riveted brass Yul Lamp, designed by Alexa Hampton. The brass is beautiful and this particular lamp works with so many styles. Like new, it retails for $525 and I am asking $200.

 

 

Last, but not least, I have a Cornice Hexagonal Flush Mount in Polished Nickel. This piece is stunning in person and is in like-new condition. It retails for $567 and I am asking $300.

 

If you have any questions or are interested in any of these fixtures, please let me know!

10 Things I Can’t Live Without: Alaina of Live Creating Yourself

I started reading Alaina’s blog, Live Creating Yourself about a year ago and was instantly charmed by Alaina’s sweet, easygoing personality. She is the type of girl that you could chat with for hours. Alaina works as a graphic designer in Chicago and muses daily on her love of interior design, fashion, and travel. It’s no wonder I enjoy her blog!

 

The history, the architecture, the cities, the clothes, the music, the food, the wine, the Riviera, the chic women, the sexy men, the language. I love anything French, and I find myself dreaming of my next trip to Paris every. single. day. I cannot imagine life without French culture inspiring me day in and day out.

What can I say? I love wine.

Sure I'd love a certain $5000 couch, but since that isn't happening any time soon, I can keep on doing what I do best, and that's decorating on a budget. My apartment was almost entirely furnished with items I bought on Craigslist, thrift stores, or Ikea. Fortunately, flea markets, resale shops, and garage sales are some of my favorite places to be on a Saturday afternoon; and finding the perfect whimsical accent or a piece of furniture in need of some DIY TLC gets me excited likes it's nobody's business.

I believe traveling is the best thing a person can do for themselves. You will learn so much more about a culture by experiencing it than you'll ever learn from reading about it. More importantly, you grow as a person by taking yourself out of your comfort zone and trying new things. Last year I trekked around central China - the part of China no one ever visits - and I ended up hiking a mountain, sleeping in a Buddhist monastery, and eating duck blood. True story. I can now say with certainty that I hate hiking, have a new appreciation for budget hotels, and prefer French cuisine. But I would have never known for sure had I not tried the alternatives.

Jane Austen, J.K. Rowling, Nora Ephron, Helen Fielding, Charlotte Bronte, Stephanie Meyer, Elizabeth Gilbert, Philippa Gregory, Jane Green - just a few of my favorite female authors and screenwriters whose work inspires my creativity, whose success motivates me, whose characters I feel like I've known my whole life, and whose stories prove that a good love triangle can bring a nation together. Or tear them apart depending on how you look at it... (Team Jacob!)

I love showtunes. I blame my mother for this addiction. I saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat for my 5th birthday. I saw Les Miserables and the Phantom of the Opera twice by the time I was ten. Fifteen years later, my iTunes library is chalk-full with songs from the Broadway classics and golden age of movie musicals - Singing in the Rain, anyone? Not to mention there was a period in high school when my friends wouldn't ride in my car in fear that the Newsies soundtrack would be in the CD player. It's a blessing and a curse, I tell ya.

I lived in London for 5 months and didn't hear thunder the entire time I was there. I love London. But that was the most depressing realization ever. Hey - I'm a Midwestern girl. I'm used to tornado drills in school and thunder so loud it hurts your ears. And every time I see a huge green orb on the radar, I get giddy, bunker down in my cuddlies, pop some popcorn, and wait.

via

Summer doesn't hold a candle to this time of year. First, not only do I get to wear my leather boots, sweaters, and scarves, but I don't have to worry about the 95 degree humidity causing sweat stains to show through my shirt (or bridesmaid dress, which actually did happen this summer). Second, this time of year revolves around the golden trifecta of holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I mean, what's not to love? The costumes, the feasts; the changing leaves, the first snowfall; trick-or-treating, Christmas shopping; scary movies on repeat, Nat King Cole on the radio; Thanksgiving break, Christmas vacation; carving pumpkins, decorating the tree; the list goes on...

Chocolate chip cookies take me to my happy place. Again, I blame my mother for this addiction. Coming home from school to the smell of fresh baked cookies was a regular occurrence at my home. Sometimes I wish I had a time machine...

via

As much as I love to travel, nothing compares to coming home. It's the place I'm most comfortable, most happy, most myself. It's the place I can wear sweatpants all day, watch Meg Ryan movie marathons, sing Bette Davis Eyes at the top of my lungs, have fully detailed conversations with my dogs, dance around in my underwear to whatever song I love that day, take naps, try yoga for the first time without anyone watching, and sit at my computer for hours on end doing god knows what. It's home. And that's me. I'll be giving a lecture on how to be cool at Northwestern next month.

 

 

Thank you so much for including me, Paloma! This is one of my favorite blog series and it's an honor to be a part of it.

I’m back from Napa!

I’m back from a whirlwind trip to Napa! I had such a fabulous time visiting some very unique wineries, meeting some incredibly interesting people, eating delicious food (Napa has the best food in the country in my opinion), and having fun with friends. The weather was less than stellar yesterday and we encountered a ton of traffic on the way to the San Francisco airport. Suffice it to say that four of us were flying on three different flights and we each missed the flights we were supposed to be on! This seemed to happen to everyone I encountered at the airport. I was just thankful that I was able to get on a flight back home, even though my poor husband had to pick me up after 11:00 pm on a work night. I need to spend the afternoon catching up on some work, unpacking, and doing laundry (very glamorous, I know), but I will fill you in on the details of my trip in the coming days. Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!

 

{Image Credit: Kyle Knight}